area have proven over the years they are supportive of transit and dedicated funding. when they initially voted to approve a 1% sales tax in 1983 to create an organization that at the time they had no idea what it would do or what it would be capable of doing, and then subsequently have voted by large margins to allow us to issue long term debt and other opportunities. so, yes, sir, i believe so. >> let me take advantage of the one final, i promise this is the final. you know, we have a debate in the committee as it relates to gas tax dollars, which the advocates for highway and of course we're always going to have highways as part of our overall system but they say well, a gas tax dollar shouldn't be used for transit purpose

because, you know, it's the drivers who pay the gas tax who ultimately are funding transit systems. increasingly however we've been seeing general fund dollars be used in this respect for funding the overall transportation bill and seems to me as we used more general fund dollars, that argument is increasingly dissipated at the end of the day because general fund dollars is paid by everybody. any perspectives on that? i don't know how you deal with it in your respective states. >> i have two comments. the vast majority of our riders also drive automobiles and they are paying the tax also. but the investment in transit -- >> they take the transit to go to work but then they have their car -- >> or they drive to the parking lot and then take the train coming in. but the vast majority of the people that still use it, benefit from transit from a

congestion standpoint getting riders off the road. it works hand in hand. i can tell you that there's not sufficient highways within philadelphia currently to handle all the automobile traffic without transit, you know, it would be literally a parking lot. so, the transit benefits everyone, everyone in the region, whether it's the people riding transit or the people on the highways. >> that would have its own economic consequence. if you end up in a parking lot you're not getting your sales force to sales or workers to work on time. anybody else want to comment on this last question? >> i would just say ditto. i tell them get out of that old thinking all this siloing and this is a road dollar and this is a transit dollar. we're all talking about mobility and access. nothing is free. everybody and we're all so integrated and interconnected i think that is totally old

thinking an we just need to step it up and move it up and not disregard it, but don't get stuck it in. >> we may have you visit some of our colleagues. >> might want to think about how you answer them in that regard. mr. thomas. >> some of our strongest partners in north texas are txdot and north texas tollway authority. understanding as mr. casey said, is is a collaborative opportunity. >> absolutely. >> let me thank all of our witnesses for appearing before the committee. it's very helpful in developing a record and some of the issues that will undoubtedly be debated among memberers. i think the testimony makes a powerful case for the need for strong investments to bring our transit system to a state of good repair. i look forward to working with all of you and others to develop a transit tightle that can begin to meet some of these needs for the next sur if face transportation bill. this record is going to remain open until a week from today if

any senators wish to submit questions for the record. we'd ask our witnesses if you do receive questions to please respond to them as expeditiously as possible. they're helpful in dealing with some of the questions that we have and with that this hearing is adjourned. >> here's a look at our prime time lineup. on c-span 3, it's american history tv with a look at u.s. foreign policy. we'll examine america's response to total tarism, rwanda and genocide at 8:00 p.m. eastern. and on c-span a special program on the use of consumer drones taking your picture, mapping construction sites and cleaning the outside of high rise

buildings are all things that drones are being used for these days. here's a look at some of that. >> this weekend, three follow me projects launched, one kickstart and one ours, follow me one of these things where the drone follows you. you're biking or skiing, running, whatever, and the drone just says 30 feet back and 30 feet up and keeps the camera focused on you and gets that perfect cinematic hollywood feel. that's, you know, on one level that's, you know, that is exactly what the youtube generation wants. it's incredibly complex artificial intelligence, using gps, image recognition, spotting you and creatively trying to figure out what the right angle is, looking at the sun, the shadows. this is the kind of stuff that was science fiction a few years ago. this is the droid you're looking for.

this was just this weekend, there were three projects that launched. one of them just raised a half a million dollars in a day all based on our platform i hasten to add. that was just today. tomorrow this mapping function we're talking about, what christian is doing, this notion of construction. construction is arguably the number two industry in the world, agriculture is the number one. so what this $300 copter can do is a one button manner. it just goes around, does circles around a construction site, takes pictures, gets sent to the cloud, in this case auto desk and creates this 3d model. again, that 3d model gets snapped to the cad model the engineering company is already doing. then you get -- it's happening every day on automate ed fashion, thanks to recharging stations, and you get -- you're the client, what's

going on on the construction site. you can drive to the construction site or watch on the cloud, your building, snapped onto the cad model you approved, watch it building up digitalized, perfectly aligned. there's no b.s. you've got ground truth or air truth if you will. that's a $300 copter. imagine what's going to happen in the next five years. >> that a portion of tonight's program on drones, 8:00 p.m., 5:00 pacific for our in-depth look on c-span. chilean president michele bauchlet discussed democracy and stability in her country monday. she was elected chile's first female president in 2006. following her remarks she

answers questions on trade, energy and chile's role on the u.n. security council. this is an hour. >> good afternoon. welcome to brookings. [ speaking foreign language ] . my name is ted. i'm the acting vice president and director of the foreign policy program here and on behalf of john thorton with us here today, co-chair of the brookings institution's board of trustees and our president strobe tall bot, i'm delighted to welcome all of you here to brookings this afternoon for a special address the president of the republic of chile. we're honor shed was able to take time out of her busy schedule in washington, including her meeting with

president obama at the white house earlier today. for the foreign policy program's alan and jane international leaders forum. i also want to extend a warm welcome to the high-level delegation from santiago including many ministers, members of chile's congress and private sector leaders. we're especially happy to welcome back to brookings foreign minister munoz who in 1977 spent a year with us at brookings as a visiting fellow finishing up his ph.d. president batchlet is no stranger to our halls either. she joined us in 2009 for a talk from this podium on how latin america was coping with the global financial crisis. and washington is familiar ground as well from her early days as a junior high school student in bethesda and studies at the interamerican defense college, to her many visits as

chile's minister of defense, minister of health and president from 2006 to 2010. president batchlet joins us today as she enters her second tour as president of the republic after winning over 62% of the vote in chile's national election's last december. with a majority of seats in congress held by her coalition president batchlet has moved quickly to enact an ambitious ajen daf reforms notably in the areas of education, taxes and constitution and electoral design. this agenda reflects chile's remarkable success as a leader in both economic and political terms and continuation to continue moving forward on the path of social and democratic progress. president batchlet also enters

office at an important moment for latin america which in addition to dominating the world cup competition so far, while facing its own challenges, sustainable energy and democratic stability. i can think of no other leader in modern latin america more prepared to take on these challenges than president bachelet whose remarkable career as a medical doctor, and imprisoned and exiled political activist, a global leader in the fight for gender equality and em powerment as the head of u.n. women and now a two-term president, makes us all proud of the promise of democracy to deliver real results. president, we look forward to your remarks, we will then have time for discussion, moderated by harold, the director of our latin american initiative including some questions from the audience.

if you are following us on twitter use the #bachelet. welcome, president bachelet. [ applause ] >> thank you, ted, for those kind remarks. and particularly thank you for being there with us, watching the football game too, suffering as we suffer. thank you very much for that. well, i want to say chairman of the board of the brookings institution, mr. john thornton, acting vice president and director of foreign policy of the brookings institution, mr. ted, director of latin american initiative brookings institution mr. harold munoz. secretary general of the os excellency, minister, senators, congressmen, members of the

chilean delegation, distinguished ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic corps, officers of the u.s. government, pro fessers and members of the academia, ladies and gentlemen and dear friends because i see a lot of good friends here, i started this to give a little of latin american touch. we usually start off speeches with a long mention of all the important people. dear friends, it's always a pleasure to return to the united states which was my home for several years. a home where i learned important lessons and made close friendships. i thank brookings and the institutions that have cosponsored this meeting. i'm returning to washington as president of the republic of chile, optimistic we have initiated positive changes for the future of the country and confidence this is a worth while task. in recent decades chile has embarked on a successful path of democratic changes. we have significantly reduced poverty and have also

strengthened the country's stability, economic, political and social. we are internationally recognized as a country with good practices, clear rules and working and i would say sound institutions. this has given us a solid anchor in the fluctuations of the globalized world. in other words, ours is a stedfast stability, ours is a steady growth, and the basis for this has been the stability of our domestic, social, political and economic relations. above all, our governance is based on identifying and addressing those issues which will lead to a more equal society and dynamic develop ment. today, the challenge facing chile is the elimination of inequality dealing with this, will enable us to achieve inclusive and sustainable development and to be counted among the most modern democracy. we take up this challenge, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it

is the most intelligent and reliable way of banking on our future with economic dynamism, political stability and social cohesion. this challenge require us to deal with three essential aspects. tackling inequality understood disparity of opportunity, lack of access or discrimination and injustice among citizens. second, encouraging our sustainable and inclusive growth. and third, achieving greater civic participation in decision affecting all chileans. in other words we're not talking about rewriting but rather about consolidating our history of development and democracy, making improvements and changes where shortcomings still exist. it is not only my idea or that of the people who voted for me, it is a national consensus built up over years. although there are legitimate

differences regarding the best ways of achieving the transformations and this what is we have launched a broad facial debate, nobody in chile denies the need for change because as in most nations of the planet, society itself has changed a great deal in recent years. citizens have become more act e active, more critical, better informed and more demanding. if i would say also more challenging. our voices in a multitude of languages are calling for societies not to forget in their institutional dealings in the economic management and in the sign of the public policies what should be focus of any social contract, the people. although from the government's viewpoint this demand represents a challenge, it is an interesting and important one. the challenge of insure that people are more involved in decision making on matters that affect them, so that the development policies are translated into quality of life, social cohesion and democracy.

for us this means reapprising collective life and public interest, promoting dialog with civic sense and a respect for differences. the challenge of eliminating inequalities has a component since it refers to good life for all, but it also has an economic component. that's why we're saying it's the right thing to do, but it's also the smart thing to do. because we know that we need dynamic and sustained economic growth in order to tackle inequality, eradicate poverty, create opportunities for development, and generate revenue for the implementation of social welfare policies and so it is in both senses that chile has decided to assume and expand the undeniable progress made by the country since the return of democracy. recognizing today's new challenges and focusing on governance for growth and instability of democracy. around 2020, chile will have a

per capita income similar to that of the developed economies, but we shall not be a truly developed country if we continue to be one of the countries with highest income inequality. and this inequality affects our social cohesions and our prospects for economic development. this is why we must tackle it and at the same time, opt for inclusion and growth. like most chileans, i'm convinced the biggest risk to the stability and progress of chile is not making the changes that we need to make. because inequality undermines one of the most important foundation both of the economy and of the democracy. trust. trust in the market. trust in institution and stability, trust in social relations. and trust is the precious asset which today chile has to decide to enhance, reducing inequality and fostering cooperation between the state, the citizenry

and the market. and this is the underlying meaning of the reforms. and we are optimistic because this is the best way of building a better country for all. we have a strong foundation which to build. in recent years, chile's economic growth has been positive and unemployment has declined. this allowed important progress to be made in the expansion of social rights and opportunities for people. this reflects the global financial scenario, good copper prices and recent years -- sorry, good copper prices in recent years and our monetary response to the financial crisis. these conditions are cyclical and difficult to replicate. when the factors underlying the dynamism of our economy disappear, growth prospects will recede. chile is currently experiencing a period of low growth below its gdp potential and we must respond to the challenge which this represents. chile's growth for 2014 is

estimated at just over 3%. starting in 2015, our goal is to resume the steady path of growth and in the second half of our administration, for chile's growth to be about 5% at its potential gdp level. we have set ourselves ambitious goals but take a realistic approach to the economic conditions facing us. we need to generate more economic growth but not growth of any kind. we need growth that is socially legitimate and inclusive and environmentally sustainable and democratically oriented. for this we need to grow in the basis of our development by means of structural reforms, chilean society, the citizenry and our economy indicate that now is the time to undertake such reforms. what are the changes we are proposing on and that are already under way. one structural reform of education, focusing on quality, public education and inclusion.

two, stimulation of economic growth and productivity, innovation, and competitiveness, and this obviously involves also tackling the challenges facing us regarding energy. three, tax reform providing ongoing resources for the state and redistributing more forms of common development. it must also lead us back to the path of fiscal responsibility, which is essential if the state is to honor its commitments in the medium and long term. four, new constitution and up-to-date one allowing more scope for democracy, participation and guarantees for people in all their diversity. i should like to refer briefly to all these topics. firstly, education which fosters equity, productivity and democracy. i'm not going to say anything that i will win a nobel prize here but knowledge is essential in order to achieve ongoing prosperity in these areas and to

generate this knowledge they must make education the focus of their development strategy. this is what we -- what countries have done. those countries who have achieved developments such as finland or japan, singapore or the united kingdom. chile needs demands far reaching challenge to improve the quality, scope and coverage of education on all levels. you will undoubtedly recall hearing the news three years ago that thousands of students in santiago issued a structural demand, their right to free and quality education. that was a time with a lot of young people, but something i was here working for the u.n. and everybody would ask me in any meeting how could you explain this. we understand it in countries who are doing bad in the economy, but you're doing well in the economy, how are you explain that doing well in the economy, still people are demonstrating massively in the street. i have to tell them that the demand of those students were

posing were echoed throughout society and to ensure all young children and young people are given not only basic education but appropriate standards of quality over and above what a family can pay. and chile has -- i have to tell you, when a country so -- if i would say proud of what we have been able to build, coming from a dictatorship to build a sustainable, mature democracy, with good economic performance, people believes now it's our time. we really deserve to have quality education for all. chile has an important task here. today we are the country ranked as being most dependent op private funding for high education. exactly 85.4%. in korea, japan, and the united kingdom, the reliance on family contributions is considerable, but much less than in chile. more state investment in education is, therefore, crucial

for society aiming at equitable and sustainable development. i know this is also the discussion here in the united states about education and hhow the students are having right now. what chile must remedy the shortcomings of the system and provide guarantees of the prince. s underlying our right to education, that is integration, universality and quality. this is why we have initiated the structural reform which is already under way and our proposal concerns various aspects. improving of public education, and end to this selection of students, and end to profit making by establishing receiving public funds, and an end to copayment with mixed financing. in other words, we want families no the to have to pay for their children's education in establishment, receiving state funding. second creation of two new state

universities, created in two regions of the country, where there is no public university. and third, institution building and improved building of preschool education. we are guaranteeing access to college for the most vulnerable students through a special program of access to high education. and we're improving technical education throughout chile and regional universities and with education reflecting the economic and productive characteristic of each territory. what is our goal? our goal is to guarantee that all students in chile, without exception, can obtain quality education, free of charge. what we really want is not to lose any of those talents, capacities, that our people have, and not distributed according to the income of the family. we need everyone to have the opportunity of a good education and then to country bute to the country's development. private providers of education

may continue to participate if they meet quality standards, ban all forms of discrimination and assume the responsibility of the obligations incumbent of a public service. of course the state must play the leading role in both delivery and regulation of education. this would produce better informed citizens from old social mobility, equity and inclusion and allow chile's growth to depend not only on natural resources but knowledge of its people. and this brings me to another focus of my government. development of production and competitiveness. we know that productivity increases slowly in chile and we also know that innovation is the main trigger of long-term growth. we must, therefore, add more knowledge, more complexity and more innovation to our economy, and also involve those who are not participating today or are participating below their

potential. we must also diversify our production matrix. in addition to the exploitation of our natural resources and particularly copper, our production sectors must contribute more to the generation of wealth and economic growth. in order for this to happen, manpower training is essential. accordingly we have set in motion initiatives to expand coverage, consideration to productivity and relevance of training through work. through specialized and targeted plans we are making a special efforts to generate suitable incentives to increase the participation of women and young people in the world of work. in chile these two groups have the lowest rates of participation in the labor market. 54.6% for women and 47.1% for young people. these figures are respectively 7.7 and 10.3 percentage points below the average.

in addition to investment and human capital we shall increase investment in science, technology and innovation, offering incentives for the application for the solution of the country's problems. we must implement a strategy that takes into account the conditions, strength and needs of our country. in which public/private initiative is essential. in this context we have announced two powerful problems that go to the heart of the economic activity. the agenda for productivity and innovation and growth and the agenda for energy. the agenda for productivity, innovation and growth focuses the development strategy for diversification of the production matrix, inclusion of more people in the labor market, incorporation of new economic sectors in our basket of exports, stimulus of our strategic areas, support for small and medium sized enterprises and creation of quality public infrastructure. this extensive agenda includes a

series of measures to which the experience of the united states will be very useful to us. for example, this agenda envisions a national network of business development center which will provide comprehensive advice to help small and medium enterprises to improve their business models. and i know that you have small business development centers which are our inspiration i have to say. then you can ask the copyright. but now we have. we're going to copy it. what we just signed an mou with the government so don't worry. which as i said, your small business development center are our inspiration and we are cooperating in connection with this project. i'm not going to describe the whole agenda. it's pretty big, it's lengthy, and available to the public, but i do want to add that we shall also have a system to support the productive diversification of our economy and expansion and strengthening of the sectors

already consolidated. through those sections we shall finance public goods to buttress significant investment projects with a focus on sectors for high professional for growth and job creation. however, while setting new productivity targets, we're also aware that chile faces considerable energy challenges. chile imports 60% of its primary energy. this means that our country is sensitive to stability and vol it tillty in international markets to supply restrictions. we must invest in infrastructure and new generation and transmission projects in order to reduce this dependency. this has not been happening in recent years. and this means that we have not incorporated basic energy that we can use to guarantee a reliable supply in the short and medium term. we are aware of the urgent need to encourage projects to reduce the energy deficit and we have said that we shall strongly support all initiatives that

comply with the rules enforced and are a good fit in our regions. in this area, too, the state and private sector must work together. and this is a key point because one of the obstacles to the sector's growth is the lack of social permits for those projects. there are two important challenges here. to strengthen the energy institutional structure and to work to reconcile the interest of local communities with those in the energy generation and transmission projects. this means work at an early stage following clear rules to ensure the development of this project is feasible in the medium and long term. we are therefore working on a plan of territorial development allowing us to decide which project cans be located and where. we want to see all stakeholders together to define sort of an area of development so we can get into some agreements on this. however, we also face the challenge of improving

competition in the energy market and encouraging new players to enter the market. on this basis we hope to be able to study the experience of the united states from which we have much to learn about gas distribution, renewable nonconventional energies, energy efficiency and good practices and i want to stress this, it is urgent for chile to ensure reliable and efficient energy development at competitive prices but at the same time to use our renewable resources in a sustainable and nonpolluting manner. this is the meaning of our energy agenda, ensure that the country will have a diversefide balanced and sustainable matrix. we aim to reduce energy prices, efficiency and diversification in the energy market. we shall ensure that 45% of the electricity generation capacity that was installed between 2014 and 2025, examines from renewable, nonconventional

energy resources. so that this accounts for 20% of chile's energy matrix within a decade. in addition we have proposed that energy efficiency should be a state policy, the rule rather than the exception. our goal is for us to be able to reduce our consumption by 20% by 2025. we're talking a total of 20,000 gigawatts per year. i know here too you have much to teach us since the energy policy of 2005 attaches great importance to efficiency. ultimately the goal of this agenda is to give certainty to all relevant players, to increase productivity, to reassure communities and introduce clarity into the roles for investors. dear friends, i know this is an extensive program of change, however, the point is that chileans want to implement it while preserving the growth an democracy governments that we have built with considerable

effort. cuss quenshly our fiscal policy will continue to be guided by the policy of structural balance because the commitment of new ongoing expenditure must always be linked to ongoing revenue. this is the first responsibility of state towards people. for this reason in view of the need to undertake a structural reform of education and other social welfare requirements, we shall be implementing a tax reform that will give the state the necessary revenue on a sustainable basis, equivalent to 3% of gdp. in addition to providing ongoing revenue the goal of the reform is also to improve income distribution and tax ek request -- equity. in chile we have the gap between the income of the richest and the poorest households is not reduced after payment of taxes. and this is a problem that we must solve as a country. under this reform currently going through congress, those

with highest income must make a great effort to contribute to public revenue. this is a well structured reform with well designed incentive to be introduced gradually. some have tried to describe these reforms as anti-growth. i should like to say that when the developed countries had a per capita income similar to that of chile today, most of them had tax burdens considerably higher than chile's and tax systems that helped to redistribute income. those countries develop as they collected higher taxes and provide their citizens with a much higher standard of living. chile has room for improvement as regards to taxation. in 2010, chile's tax burden was 18.4% and the average was 20.6% for countries which at that time had a per capita gdp similar to that of chile. there is no reason why chile cannot follow the same path.

the tax reform that i have described may not please everyone. it doesn't please anyone. i have to say. you don't have to -- but i know. but it's essential if we have to tackle the inequalities and continue to develop. it should be noted that the expected effects of the higher taxation on public saving and training of human capital would be more than offset the short-term effects on investment. moreover, the income tax increase will have little or no effect on investment. chile is an active player in international financial markets with a low level of risk. thanks to our macro economic policies, and fiscal soundness, we have a low at the global level. we have no reason to fear that a tax reform earmarked for investment in human capital will alter our economic development. taxation is only one of the

factors affecting investment. and it's far from being the most important one. status on the subject conclude that the most important factors on investment are, first, social cohesion and political stability. second, the quality and credibility of public institution, third, the accessibility and competitiveness of markets, including financial markets, four, infrastructure and five, appropriate economic legislation. in all these areas we are meeting our challenges. i shall not describe in detail all the tax reforms but i wish to say that they have four goals. the first is to increase the tax burden to finance ongoing expenditures with ongoing revenue. the educational reform in which we are engaged and other social welfare policies and reduction in the structural deficit and fiscal accounts. second, to improve income distribution and tax equity. third, to introduce new and more

efficient ways of encouraging saving and investment, and four, to implement measures to decrease tax evasion and loopholes, is that the word? i know one aspect of this tax reform will be of interest to you. the repeal of law 600 concerning the foreign investment statute. new investment projects and attacks the clause. this legislation was adopted in 1974 in a very different political, social and economic context when there was a dictatorship in chile our international prestige was at a very low level. the lack of democracy, lack of freedom and unrelatibility of our institution meant mechanisms such as this were needed to encourage foreigners to invest. after 25 years of democracy with our solid international prestige, in a contest of good governance, democracy and freedom we no longer need this mechanism to make foreign

investors look favorably on the idea of investing in our country. the institutional stability of our country enables us to take the decision to continue this mechanism without affecting foreign investment in chile. i should like to share some pictures -- sorry, features with you, would that be nice i brought pictures but i didn't brought some pictures. chile has trade agreements with 61 countries. these countries account for 63% of the world's population and 85% of global gdp. in addition chile ranks 34th out of 144 economies in the world banks doing business index. as regards to chile as place for doing business i should like to say in 2013, our country was among the first 20 economies receiving foreign direct investment, ranked 18th, according to the united nations conference on trade and development. and foreign policy has also -- i don't know if it changed, but we are also trying to do other -- i

mean to have new emphasis, new focuses, and we are looking at latin america and the caribbean as a very important option. latin america is our natural space and from there we shall reach out to the world. we realize it's a diverse region but we must respect the different path to development. differences are not obstacles for convergences. we believe chile can help to build bridges of understanding over and above differences of approach and that as i have noted on so many occasions, the region presents the most united face to the world. this vision explains our conception of the pacific alliance, an economic integration project that does not preclude or oppose other integration schemes. a few days ago in mexico, i reaffirmed our commitment to the pacific alliance. similarly, we have promoted convergence and dialect between

the pacific alliance and the countries without watering down the alliances specificity or its rates of progress. we shall pay special attention to latin america and we shall continue to develop our excellent political, economic and cultural relation with our partners in europe, asia pacific, and particularly north america. our relation with the united states are characterized by their sew lidty, trust and maturity, reflecting important shared principles, values and interest. we believe in the strength and relevance of democracy and the rule of law. and we defend individual rights and freedoms. we share a common ambition of the importance of free trade ensuring development and stimulating investment and working together to create a multilateral trade system based on clear, predictable and transparent rules. chile and the united states must move forward in our relationship. i'm sure that after this visit

new dimensions and areas of understanding will emerge for a new association focus on scientific and technical cooperation, innovation, energy and education among other things. dear friends, at the outset of this speech i spoke of the importance of trust in ensure a country's development. this trust also depends on the continuous enhancement and expansion of democratic rights of the citizenses. this is why i have advocated a new constitution. our existing constitution dates from 1980 and was adopted in condition which today nobody could describe as democratic. despite the numerous amendments introduced over the past decade it still has this deficit to origin if i may use this term. it contains provision limiting electoral majorities, allowing minorities to tie with majorities and this is contrary to one of the basic tenants of

any modern state, respect for the majority and not allowing a few to be told what a nation wants. in addition, this makes it difficult for the country to democratically resolve its differences. a fully democratic social is an essential prerequisite for trust in the institution, trust in the state and trust in politics. and it is essential to a healthy society in which entrepreneurship flourishes and private initiative has certainty and stability for its action. while we have been laying the foundation for a new constitution, which is necessarily a lengthy process of dialog and participation, we're not -- we have not remained idle. after more than 20 years of discussion, chile has -- starting with the next presidential election, chileans living abroad may be able to vote. in addition we have drafted legislation reforming our

electoral system which in practice allows a tie between majority and minorities, in terms of legitimacy representation, replacing it with a proportional system providing for higher levels of competition and representativeness, especially for smaller parties and i should add, trying also to introduce more balance, gender balance, in our parliament. we're very far away from that. we are adopting this course because we are convinced that enhancement of democracy is the key to a more solid society. a society anchored in respect for individuality and difference, but which can guarantees in each person appropriate standards of respect and well being. and also a society which has legitimate institutional mechanism for resolving its differences. it is in this space of respect and trust that collective projects can evolve, linking individual expectations and initiatives with the great dreams of society. the transformations that i have described here will require time

and gradual introduction so they can mature with dialog and democratic participation and can be anchored legitimately in our society and institutions so they can enjoy the support of a sound economy and legitimate institutions. many of them will last beyond a government term of office because we are thinking about development in the long term. chile's not a populace country. we know that economic responsibility and democratic legitimacy are the only way to create lasting and equitable well being for each of its citizens. dear friends, at the solstice which occurred last week the indigenous cultures of chile celebrate in the new year as in the case of many places. it is the beginning of a new cycle of collective work, organization and commitment looking forward to a good harvest. and this is the task on which in this new cycle we have embarked

as a society, unlike the seasons, it represents no disruption but the wisdom to recognize the task that are fitting for each time. thus we shall sow a seed of social capital with deep roots which is the basis of all solid and sustainable development. i know the great task on which chile has embarked in my term of office will last for several calendars, but it will be a harbinger of spring in all its splendor. and this is the reason for our optimism and, of course, our entire work. thank you very much. >> thank you for joining us here at brookings. it's wonderful to have you here with us. >> mike.

>> it's -- -- we have a fu minu for opportunity for discussion and i would like to take the moderator's privilege to lead off with asking the first question. i would like to turn back to some of the foreign policy questions you raised in your speech. as you know, chile is currently once again serving on the u.n. security council. and it's a time of rising global insecurity, tensions in europe, and asia, and the middle east. i'm wondering if you could talk to us a little bit about how you envisioned chile's role playing on the security council during this term? >> well, we see ourselves as always we have seen ourselves as a country who has to respect for the rule of law and respect multilateral institutions and respect a peaceful way of solving problems when it's

possible. of course it's not usually the kind of things that the security council has to deal with. but we will be ensure that the principles and values that chile will represent and that we share with the united states will be the ones who every time we have to discuss case to case, will be put there as the more important issues. but we also think and we were talking with president obama about that, i think we need to discuss much more on the way we're dealing with conflicts, the way -- what -- which is the role and the -- i mean if peacekeeping operation needs more support, needs to see what else we have to do. my opinion, not only as president of the republic, but having worked in the u.n., and having -- i mean as minister of defense we send -- i really push a lot on chile's -- i would say very -- active participation on

peacekeeping operation, but after being in many countries, visiting many refugee camps, visiting peacekeeping operation sides, we need to make a stronger thought and assessment and see what else we can do. because i'm not sure we win in the battle and we need to do much more about that. >> thank you, president bachelet. i think we have time to take a few questions from the audience. if you could please wait for the micropho microphone, raise your hand if you wish to ask a question and if you would identify yourself and your institution affiliation. while we wait for the crowd to collect its thoughts, i wonder if you could talk a little more about chile -- your government's thoughts on the transpacific partnership. there's been some doubts that have been raised about the

direction of negotiations and i'm wondering if you could elaborate on what direction do you see chile taking in the negotiations as they go forward? >> as you may as with singapore, jerusalem and new zealand. and looking at the way -- because in apec, all the economies, it has been very difficult to think on the free trade agreement of the whole asia pacific area. we do believe that it's good idea. we're pushing towards that. so when we were in the p-4, we started inviting many other nations to be part of it. that's why they came to a p 7 and p 8 and if we use the former name, it will be like a p-12. so chile has been part of this. very strongly. the thing is that when we are talking about the ttp, we need to see the result has to be

better than what we have today. we have already free trade agreements with all the rest of the 11 countries. w we are negotiating finally or analyzing, what would it mean in which terms and how we can ensure -- i mean we really want a free trade agreement with the highest standard of quality level. but we need to ensure that those standards are also respecting the national interests. so that's the kind of thing -- i'm not going to go into the technicalities. there are issues we need to discuss further. we're doing that. so we hope we can be able to get to a good solution for sort of a win-win solution for everyone. because we believe this is really -- it could be the very important perspective on trade and economic relation between the 12 countries.

>> richard fineburg, university of california san diego. madam president, thank you for your very inspiring and persuasionive remarks. you spoke of chile as a potential bridge among countries. in the western hemisphere, two of the most difficult problems are the polarization of ven is wail -- ven is waila and change in cuba. i wonder if you could specifically indicate what role chile may play as a bridge in those two on going problems. >> well, i would say as matter of fact, not only in visit, i've been doing things about that. what we have done and during my integration days, the minister

of foreign affairs had a immediating with the rest of the minister of foreign affairs. and we believe that public standings are good but not sufficient. we have to put people in action. so we decide to send the mission of foreign ministers to venezuela and it was -- i would say at the beginning pretty successful because it permitted for the first time government and opposition get togethers, sit together and talk and dialogue. and there has been other business with some progress made. and the last time i believe probably a little bit slow. but the other thing i believe is we know it's not easy. it's a very polarized society as we mentioned. when i was president for unasor, temporary, every year there is a new president, we had a

situation in bolivia and we personally handle it. through dialogue and we need to make bigger efforts so we can see a solution. that i have to say is the venezuelans that have to solve their internal issues and what we need to do is support them with a bank account. a bank account is also part of this process, to support all the process of dialogue and hopefully a peaceful solution to the internal conflict. we are also very active in the case of he could colombia and the relation with the fac and the governments started the negotiations, too. we have been very helpful in that, too. they recognized this and we continue looking to spoerd all of the effort that president

santos is doing to bring peace into colombia. of course we will always be able to build bridges. we haven't had yet any specific plan but we're looking for any way we can do any process and supporting whatever it is needed, we'll be there. >> thank you. we would like to take a question from our own room. this is a very popular event. and i want to give them a chance to ask questions as well. we have a question here regarding the indigenous communities of chile and what are your policies in the government to you foresee in terms of they're role in chile

and the question of land is an issue at hand. >> yeah. he was asking about indigenous communities and chile. >> the important thing is that i heard the question. i can answer it. the thing is that we have said that we need to -- let me see, have a new pact, a new pact with the indigenous communities. so we have a whole agenda of different things from ensuring political participation of the indigenous group but also economic develop. over the land and so on. cultural measures, et cetera, et cetera.

chile can be a multicultural country. and we have many different indigenous groups. there's not only one. we have from the north to the south and, of course, other areas. so it's important that we have a whole agenda and we have to work with them, too. but also, what we've been doing and it's very important, i believe, we were talking about social permits. tsz also linked to that is that we have -- we have approved as a country, we ratify the convention 169 of ilo. and that convention states that all kinds of projects and the new political or economic projects that affect directly the communities should go to consultation with the communities.

so i have an agenda, counsel of indigenous people. i have ministry of culture. i didn't send the projects to the lar bimeparliament until we right process of consultation. and that should be in many other situations they should be part of at least a consulting way to be part of giving their opinion on what and how do they feel and what they would like in some issues or institutional represent them. i would say it's a new way of doing thing on one hand. also very active agenda dealing with the short comings we've had with them and some challenges that we have had. i know that we will be able to in that sense also diminish some conflicts that we have in some part of the country. and also with a lot of social

protection because in many of the indigenous areas, there are other places we have hired rates of poverty or higher rates of some diseases. and that it is full of poverty. we have to pay more attention to that but with respect to their own values and culture. >> thank you very much. afraid that we've come to the end of our time. thank you for being so generous and sharing -- >> i'm so sorry. i spoke too much. >> no. thank you. please join me in thanking her. i would also like to ask the audience if you can please remain seated until she and the members of her delegation are to their next meeting and have a chance to clear the building so that question really keep you on schedule. thank you very much.

tonight on c-span3, american history tv and prime time looks at u.s. foreign policy. first totalitarianism and communist governments. then a lecture on egypt and the origins of al qaeda. and a look at how the u.s. and u.n. responded to the genocide. now american history tv in prime time features a panel on totalitarianism and communist governments focusing on world war ii, the cold war and america's involvement in the middle east. this 90-minute event was hosted by